La Plata High School's It's Academic team earned the first-place spot at the regional event held Dec. 3 at the La Plata campus of CSM. The three-member team of students, from left, T.C. Martin, Matthew Kamin and Justin Cortez, will compete in a match against Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson high schools that will be televised March 21 on NBC4.

LA PLATA, Md. (Dec. 4, 2014)—La Plata High School's It's Academic team earned the top spot in the annual Charles County Public Schools competition held Dec. 3 at the La Plata campus of the College of Southern Maryland (CSM).

The La Plata three-member team of Matthew Kamin (captain), T.C. Martin and Justin Cortez won in the championship round against Maurice J. McDonough and North Point high schools to earn first place. McDonough earned second place in the championship round, followed by North Point in third place.

Each year, the first-place team goes on to compete in a regional match. The La Plata team will compete in a regional match against Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson high schools that will air March 21 on NBC4. As the second-place winner in the championship round, the McDonough team earned a chance to compete in a regional match that will air next fall.

As second-place winners, McDonough received a $250 scholarship from the Jaycees. Students who competed in the event were Franklin Olmsted (captain), Angela Cruz and Faith Hawkins. The team alternate was Jordan Parker, and McDonough students Tatianna Griffin and Chadeya Miller are also members of the team. Courtney Abell, an English teacher at McDonough, is the team's coach.

For their participation in the competition, all other high schools received a $250 scholarship from the Jaycees. The other high school three-member teams were: Lackey - Captain Terryll Montgomery, Caleb Bickerstaff and Christian Warren; North Point - Captain Joel Rogers, Luke Gibson and Dennis Whitley; St. Charles - Captain Jake Garcia, Eden Lakner and Shion Thompson; Thomas Stone - Captain Matthew Trusnovic, Colin Smallhorn and Brian Ward; and Westlake - Captain Ben Nordmann, Anna Hubbell and Teriencio Solano.

The North Point team also includes students James Adkins (alternate), Skye Corbin and James Wash. The team coach is Deen Stewart, a foreign language teacher at North Point.

Additional members of the St. Charles team include students Rory Burke, Noelani Ingles, Hunter Jackson (alternate), Kennedy Smith and Kayla Thompson. The coaches for St. Charles' team are Charlotte Florea, an English teacher at St. Charles, and Matthew Howard, a social studies teacher at St. Charles.

The Stone team also includes students Tabitha Coburn, Devin Malloy, Lee Powell (alternate), Lizzie Pritchett, Troy Robinson, Amira Sago, Brandi Smith, Devin Thrutchley, Alex Trimble and Isaiah Williams. The coaches for the team are German teacher Nancy Jeffrey and English teacher Sara Thompson.

The Westlake team includes students Byron Cantillano, Oluwademilade Daniel-Akanle (alternate), Jon Land, Tanner Jenkins, Alex Patton and Christopher Solano. The team coach is James Ressler, an English teacher at Westlake.

The Dec. 3 competition will be broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, the school system's educational television station, and Verizon FiOS Channel 12 later this month. Check the programming schedule at
beta.ccboe.com/ccboetv/ for dates and times.